Well, we always knew our letters-to-the-editor writers love when the Nanny State interferes with individual behavior.

I’m joking. I’m really surprised that so few letter writers stated the case for getting the government and airline companies out of the way, letting people talk on the phone during flights, and trusting they’ll do it in a way that doesn’t disturb others.

The man or woman in the next seat on a long flight could (and sometimes does) a lot of annoying things, but we don’t think of outlawing them. Why should cellphone use be the exception?

Cell phones aren’t banned in, say, restaurants, but loud or cringingly personal conversations don’t happen so often that fellow diners take up petitions to pass laws against them. Why should airliners be different?

If the situation were reversed, and cellphone use had been permitted all along, would we be discussing a change in the rules to ban it? Probably not.

It’s permitted in the European Union and some other parts of the world. This has not resulted in fistfights or, according to a 2012 study by the FAA, “any cases of air rage or flight attendant interference.”

I know: A restaurant is different from an airplane. You can’t walk out of an airplane.

But be honest — you’ve never walked out of a restaurant because Mr. Big Shot over there wouldn’t shut up about his latest very important widget sale. (OK, I’ve considered it.)

Let’s hope that, instead of going along with people’s cynical reactions to the proposed easing of restrictions, the FCC, Federal Aviation Administration and airlines will consider the facts about the likely effect of cellphone use on planes.

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Try it. To find out if there are problems, set up a complaint line to field reports from 30,000 feet. I’m guessing that line would be very quiet.